


i might see the world in a world inside of you

by HopeNight



Series: a fistful of glitter in the air [7]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Gen, Genderswap, Rule 63, rule 63!Casey Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:24:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2170968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeNight/pseuds/HopeNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being sick kind of sucks, especially when your the leader.</p><p>Luckily, Casey Jones kind of rocks at taking care of sick people. </p><p>Or, alternatively, how Casey and Leo reached an understanding regarding each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i might see the world in a world inside of you

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from P!nk's song "Missundaztood". Some dialogue is lifted from _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ just a few lines though. 
> 
> As always this is unbeta'd.

Casey Jones adjusted her strap of her messenger bag, making sure it was tight against her body. She tripled check her surroundings again, not wanting to accidentally lead enemies to the Lair for a second time.

Satisfied that she was alone, Casey moved the manhole cover to the side and slipped under, quickly replacing the top as she descended. Landing lightly on her feet, thankfully not in sewage, Casey took out a flashlight from her messenger bag and turned it on.

One thing no one told you about the sewers was that it was really freaking dark down here.

Casey rubbed the back of her neck and began her trek. Since becoming friends with Raph, he’s been letting her stash her gear in his room. If she kept it at her place, then sooner or later someone from her family was going to stumble across it. Then there would be so many questions. Casey preferred answering those questions around the fifth of never.

Normally April and she would walk down to the Lair together, the other girl meeting up with her after hockey practice. Tonight, though, April had an uncle’s birthday party that she needed to attend. So it was just Casey walking down the sewers tonight.

At least, she felt like she had a good idea where she was going. Hopefully. Her sense of direction was a bit wonky at times.

Casey adjusted her strap again and consulted the little map that April made for her. Casey was actually looking forward for some solo patrolling with the rest of the turtles tonight. Maybe without April they would be forced to interact with her.

It was starting to get a little grating on her, the rest of the team’s reluctance about her. She needed to know that they would trust her to have their back so she can do the same. If she was going to team up with these guys, there needed to be something there.

And she knew where to start: Leonardo.

He was the one who was the most cautious in regards to her. Raph said that Leo was being cautious due to their (Raph and hers) somewhat similar temperament.

“I think he thinks that you’re gonna go off the rails or somethin’,” said Raph to her a few nights back. He and Casey were sitting on a roof, their legs dangling off the ledge as they watched the people down the street.

“Do you think I would?”

“Well I don’t think you would go yell at someone in the middle of the fight because they made you mad.”

Casey’s eyebrows ticked upward and she glanced at Raph. “Speaking from experience?”

“Remind me to tell you about Spider Bytez sometime.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Casey said before looking down at the people on the street. “So what do I do about your brother?”

“I barely know what to do in regards to my brother,” admitted Raph with a shrug. “Just give him and the others time, I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But it’s what you need to do.”

Casey groaned and kicked out her legs, “Yeah I was afraid you were going to see that.”

A scream from nearby caught the pair’s attention and they were off in an instant, conversation forgotten.

In the present, Casey’s booted feet carefully navigated the walkways of the sewer system. She wasn’t all that good at getting people to like her enough to want to see her again and again. She supposed the fact that Leonardo hadn’t told her to buzz off was a testament that some part of him liked her.

April had assured her that they guys were endearingly sweet, especially Leo. But it was clear that they had adopted her into the family, so Casey was seeing a bit of bias in that statement.

Casey looked around the tunnel carefully and consulted the map again. Feeling satisfied that she was close; she pocketed the map and kept her flashlight low. Stepping into the low light of the tunnels near the Lair, Casey turned off the flashlight.

She just needed to keep positive.

Leo felt like he was dying.

Well he probably wasn’t dying for real, but damn did his body made him feel like it. He had woken up with his head full of cotton and scratchy throat. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and just quietly die.

It had taken Sensei one look at Leo, who had dragged himself out of bed for training, to send immediately back to his room with Donnie. He was quickly diagnosed with a cold and also given a lecture for being an idiot and not getting warm after taking a plunge in icy water during a battle with the Kraang a couple nights ago.

“I know you hate to admit that you’re not Superman,” said Donnie with a huff. “But, after me, you’ve always been the most prone to getting sick, Leo. You need to take better care of yourself.”

Leo moaned in response. Donnie’s eyes softened at that and a cool washcloth was dabbed on his warm face.

“You need to rest, okay? Sensei will sit with you when we go out on patrol tonight. But you need to sleep, Leo, and let us take care of you.”

Leo made another noise and coughed. He drank some water and took the medicine Donnie forced down his throat before he was covered up to his chin with his blankets.

Shortly after, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Casey hopped over the subway turnstile that led into the Lair. She could hear distant noises in the kitchen, possibly Michelangelo cleaning up after dinner. The door to Donatello’s lab was shut. Raph and Master Splinter were nowhere to be seen.

“Hello?” called Casey, looking around the empty space. “Anyone home?”

A couple moments later, Michelangelo came out with an unusually somber expression.

Casey felt her heart drop to her stomach.

“Michelangelo? Did something happen? Are you guys okay?”

She checked him for injuries with a practiced eye. She didn’t hear of any strange incidents happening earlier to day, but that didn’t mean anything. Oh God why was it so quiet in here? April would have called her if something terrible happened right? Or was this a family thing? Maybe she should go back home. She wasn’t family to them after all. She shouldn’t be having a quiet inner freak out like this. It wasn’t like…

“Leo’s sick,” said the orange masked turtle miserably.

And her body became awash in relief. Okay that still sucks, no one likes being sick, but it’s better then the alternatives.

“Aw man that blows,” said Casey, rubbing the back of her neck. “Is he going to be alright?”

“Donnie’s taking care of him,” said Michelangelo, still looking put out that his brother was sick. “He and Leo used to get sick a lot growing up. They’re better now, but still if one of us gets sick, then it’s usually one of them.”

“Man that really blows. My sister used to get sick a lot growing up, too,” explained Casey, “But he’ll be fine. Leonardo seems like the type to bounce back.”

The younger turtle grinned at that, “Yeah. He usually does.”

“We still need to go out on patrol tonight,” said Raph entering the room with Casey’s bag of tricks. “Kraang activity has been up. I don’t wanna take a risk, even if Leo is sick. Hey Case.”

“Raph,” greeted Casey, taking her bag.

Donatello entered the room with a sigh, “Sensei is still on the phone with his contacts in Japan.”

Casey raised an eyebrow and looked over at Raph for an explanation.

“The Hamato family is kind of rich. So Sensei makes a call twice a year to stock -up on funds for supplies for us. But the amount is different since we stopped with the algae and worms. Normally we get them delivered to different drop off points. It just takes a while and I don’t want to leave Leo by himself. He would probably come after us, the moron.”

Casey decided to put the whole algae and worms question on the backburner. She sucked on her bottom lip for a moment.

“I could stay with him,” offered Casey suddenly.

Everyone startled and looked at her.

“You guys need to go do this stuff with the Kraang right? And if Master Splinter is still on the phone, then he can’t watch Leo. April is over at her family thing. So I can you know do it. I’ve done it with my sister plenty of times. And if he tries to get up and leave, well I’ll make him stay in bed.”

Raph suddenly looked much more relieved, “Are you sure, Casey? It may be boring." 

“Eh. I can handle it. You and me can do double duty ass-kicking next time.”

With a look over at Raph, Michelangelo stepped forward first.

“I made some chicken noodle soup for him. It’s real chicken noodle, no pizza at all. Just be sure to tell him that. It’s on the stove and all you gotta do is heat it up when he wakes up,” he said seriously as he could manage.

Casey nodded, “I’ll make sure he eats it.”

Then over her Mikey’s head, she mouthed at Raph: ‘Pizza and chicken noodle soup?’

He shook his head in the universal gesture of ‘Don’t Ask’.

Donatello came over with a small medical kit, “I’ve been keeping track of Leo’s temperature in this notebook. You need to take it again at eight and then again at ten, if we’re not back by then, and write down any changes in it. Also he needs to take these two pills at eight, but try to get him to eat something first.”

“Sounds alright enough.”

“Leo’s room is the first one on the right. Thanks for doin’ this, Case. I owe you one,” said Raph, clapping a hand on her shoulder.

Casey winked over at him. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Sai Guy.”

Raph snorted, looking over at his two brothers.

“Come on, guys. Let’s go kick some alien butt.”

Casey watched them go and waved goodbye. Picking up her messenger bag, she walked down the hall, finding Leonardo’s room easily.

She opened the door and peeked inside. 

Leonardo clearly decorated his room with an Eastern influence in mind. His mattress was on the floor, trying to emulate a Japanese futon. There was a hodgepodge of mismatched and patched beanbag chairs and pillows on the floor to sit on. His swords were carefully hung on the wall and a screen divider with cherry blossoms took over a corner of the room.

There was also a wall of books in both Japanese and English, nearly all of them had some form of water damage and most of them were either sci-fi or historical fiction. The oldest one was written sometime in the eighties. 

The other thing that seemed out of place in Leonardo’s room was the _Space Heroes_ poster on the wall. Raph had mentioned that Leonardo was a major fanboy of that show, in particular Captain Ryan. Now, Casey didn’t want to fight but she wasn’t that big of a Captain Ryan fan herself. She was all about Dr. Mindstrong, baby.

She also preferred _Doctor Who_ for her TV science fiction fix. 

Casey quietly removed her shoes. (If Leonardo was going for a whole Japanese room, then she was going to use what vague customs she knew to respect his wishes.) Padding over in her socks, she took a seat on the cushion closest to Leonardo’s bed.

This was the first time that she had ever seen any of the turtles without their mask on. Offhandedly, she wondered if April had ever seen them mask-less before. It wasn’t like he was horribly ugly without the mask on, quite the opposite in fact. He was attractive.

Casey tilted her head to the side.

Leonardo slept on, his breathing labored by congestion.

Okay this was kind of boring.

Casey fixed herself in the lotus position and spying a basin of water with a washcloth in it, decided to make herself useful until eight.

She pulled out the washcloth and wrung out the excess water. Gently dabbing Leonardo’s face with it, she started to speak.

“I’m like ninety-seven percent sure that you really don’t like me. And I’m not entirely certain why. I mean I have theories. Raph just thinks that it’s ‘cause he and I are too similar. But look I’m not going to leave a fight to go and yell at someone. Did Raph really do that? He hasn’t told me the story yet. Something about a guy called Spider Bite?”

Casey dipped the cloth back into the water.

“Raph says to just give you and the others time. And I mean I get it…you don’t trust me and the others, whether they like it or not, will follow your lead. It’s an older sibling thing. My sister and I were the same way for a lot of years, still are in some way. Even when the younger ones try to fly, there is still some looking to you for a reaction type of a thing. Still s’like playing hockey, I need to know that the guys on my team have got my back. I know Raph has my back, but I’m not sure either about the rest of you. Maybe we should both meet halfway? I’ve been doing that with Linda, she’s my dad’s girlfriend, and it seems to be working.”

Gently, Casey ran a hand over Leonardo’s surprisingly soft and smooth head. An idea suddenly hit her and she dragged her messenger bag closer. Digging around inside of it, she continued to talk.

“But you don’t wanna hear me talk do you? Hey. I have an idea! My mom used to do this for me and my sister when we were sick. I still do it for Mads…Madeline, she hates it when I call her Mads even when she’s not around I feel like she would know. Anyway Mom did it for me and Madeline when we were kids. I mean I know that your dad probably did different stuff with you guys, but he’s still on the phone. Anyway I got these all loaded up on my e-reader. I know Raph thinks I’m like probably super cool and all, but I’m kind of a huge dork.”

Casey tucked herself into a more comfortable position. She had an alarm set on her phone for a few hours when she had to get Leonardo up.

“I think you’ll like it. I mean mostly everyone likes it,” she said, settling down and clearing her throat. The light of the e-reader lit her face softly. Opening it to the first page, she started to read aloud to Leonardo’s sleeping form.

_“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”_

There was someone talking to him and dabbing his face.

Leo was only vaguely aware of it. He recognized the voice, husky and feminine, deeper then April. He stirred a bit more and his mind, slightly less foggy then earlier, conjured up a name.

Why was Casey here in his room?

Slowly words began to piece through his mind. In the state between a healing slumber and sickly awareness, Leo heard what Casey said to him. He kept still, even sick his mind still called upon his training. People tended to confess more to the unconscious.

It wasn’t an issue of trust in regards to Casey for Leo. Swearing on her mother to keep their home secret, it struck a chord with Leo. It showed how seriously the girl seemed to take this.

What bothered him was the fact that she seemed to lack stakes in this. April’s dad was kidnapped. Karai was taken from Splinter and raised by Shredder. Everyone had this whole interconnection going on.

Casey just sort of accidentally fell into this and embraced it. Part of Leo worried that the girl didn’t take it seriously, that she would leave when it became clear to her how dangerous it was. He didn’t want someone to hurt his family. He saw what April’s declarations of never seeing them again did to his brothers and to himself.

He didn’t like giving someone that power over him.

Yet here Casey was dabbing at his feverish head softly and talking about meeting halfway, that she needed to know Leo was watching her back.

It took all kinds to bring a team together.

He was lulled back to an easy sleep as Casey read to him. Maybe he could borrow whatever book she was reading from when he felt better.

Hagrid had just arrived to the cabin on the rock in the middle of the sea when the alarm went off, signaling that Leonardo needed his temperature taken along with pills and food. Quickly shutting off the alarm and powering down the e-reader, Casey leaned over and shook Leonardo awake.

“Leonardo? Leooonaaarrrdooo? Come on time to get up for a little bit.”

“Can call me Leo y’know,” said a scratchy voice. “Don’t have to keep calling me Leonardo.”

“Didn’t want to assume I could,” said Casey in a softer voice. She usually used this voice when her sister was sick. “How are you feeling?” 

“Better then crap.”

Casey huffed a laugh, “I need to take your temperature for Donatello’s notebook. And then I’ll get you some soup. Michelangelo said that it didn’t have pizza in it? It’s just chicken noodle. I’ll assume you know what that means.”

“Likes to experiment.” 

“Huh,” Casey said simply. The definitely explained all the questions she had about that. “Do you want to have it here? Or do you wanna move to the couch or something? It sucks staying in your room all day.”

Leo was silent for a couple moments before saying, “Couch.”

“Alright but you’re going to have to lean on me though.”

“…kay.”

He sat up and tentatively stood up. Draping an arm around Casey’s shoulders, the two of them made their way out to the living room area. She sat Leo down and grabbing a folded blanket tucked it around his shoulders.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Now stay here. I mean it. I promised Raph you would stay and if you try to make a break for it. I will tackle you. Ninja or not, I am that damn stupid.”

Leo seemed to huff a laugh at that and said, “Won’t.”

“Good,” she turned on the TV and after some fiddling found an episode of _Space Heroes_. “Now watch that and I’ll get you some soup.”

Leo was already viewing the episode intently when she left.

Heating up the soup, she hummed to herself softly. Casey liked feeling useful and taking care of people was good. Back when she was little and the world seemed more alight with possibilities, she wanted to be a doctor or something. Watching her Mom get sick and the doctors could only make her comfortable though…it soured something in Casey’s doctoring dreams. Plus she had horrendous grades in biology and math, which you kind of need to be a doctor. 

Dreams and people just change. It’s like the nature of life or something.

Leo pulled the blanket around him closer and moved down into the softness of their home’s couch. His eyes were half-lidded as he barely paid attention o the familiar episode of _Space Heroes_. In the distance, he heard Casey as she made him something to eat in the kitchen.

His stomach growled appreciatively as the scent of warmed soup drifted into the living room. It was better then the algae and worm stew that they had instead during sick days. 

It was strange, decided Leo, seeing Casey so gentle. The other girl was usually so brash and bold, always tied with Raph for being the first one in with her weapons swinging. After the fighting was done, she usually had a joke or a reference to something he had never heard of before. 

He still has no idea who Glen Coco is or why whenever Raph or Casey take down four of whatever they are fighting they shout it at each other later.

He’s kind of embarrassed to ask April.

Casey came back in, carefully balancing a tray of soup, dry toast, and water with two pills in one of their teacups. She smiled at him and set it down.

“Smells good.”

“Gotta hand it to you,” said Casey with warmth to her tone. “Your brother knows how to cook. I may take a bowl later. But first you eat.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” said Casey with a grin. She set down the tray in front of him and flopped down on the couch.

They sat in silence as Leo ate his soup and Casey watched the show.

“Why?” asked Leo suddenly, his thoughts and lack of internal filter due to illness causing him to blurt out the question.

Casey looked over at him.

“Why what?”

“Why do you…do this? With us? I don’t get it. April and Karai didn’t really have a choice in the matter here.”

“And I make the conscious choice to go out with ninja turtles and fight aliens, robots, and thugs every night,” said Casey, watching Dr. Mindstrong carefully on the television.

“Yeah.”

“Just because something hasn’t happened to me doesn’t mean that it couldn’t,” said Casey after a moment. Her short, choppy hair fell into her face. “I was involved when I started hanging out with Red, Leo. I was involved when Goo Guy and those Foot Bots attacked us. And it’s fine because I was involved. Just me.” 

Casey crossed her long legs together and looked ahead. “But I couldn’t live with myself knowing those things existed out there and that they could hurt the people I care about. They did hurt someone that I care about. I mean this wasn’t a decision I made lightly. But when Mads, Madeline got hurt? I knew there was a lot worse out there than some thugs. So I do this to protect my family and the people I love. And I won’t stop doing it. I’m not good at much but I’m really good at fighting. If I can help protect my family, April…you guys, then maybe I’ll end up doing something good in my life.”

She blushed after that, looking almost embarrassed by her statement.

“Y’know,” she said after several moments of silence. “I used to be a lot less upfront with my emotions before I met April and you guys.”

Leo laughed into his soup. Casey looked pleased by the clean dishes and made sure the pills were taken.

Leo settled back carefully with his eyes half shut.

“Casey?” he asked hoarsely.

“Yeah?”

“Can you read me some more of that book?”

He could almost see the sliver of her smile, “Sure Leo. Hang on.”

Leo was half asleep when Casey started to read again.

Her voice was as soft as the blanket around him, “ _BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.”_

Splinter sighed as he closed the door behind him. Fifteen years and some odd months meant that he was running a bit low on stories for his contacts in Japan. He was going to have to figure out something different for the next time he made a call to get some money wired over. Still, it was worth it to keep his sons fed and their weapons up to date. Even if he couldn’t give them much and most of their things came scavenged from the various dumps, he could at least give them food and means of protection.

Still, he didn’t like to leave his eldest son alone for so long. His other boys had left hours ago while he was still on the phone. And he hated not taking care of his children when they needed him.

Tang Shen would probably have called him an overprotective father, and perhaps he was.

Still, he was a bit surprised by the sight he was greeted with when he stepped out.

Leonardo was soundly asleep. His head was on the lap of Casey Jones and a blanket was tucked around his body. Casey, not having noticed Splinter’s entrance, was focused on some sort of tablet. Her voice was a soft cadence as she read aloud the words of the story.

 _“They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled around tight corners,”_ she said in an excited whisper, not caring that her audience was enveloped in the world of dreams. One hand controlled the device, while the other ran over Leonardo’s head in a gesture that reminded Splinter of someone carding fingers through hair.

It was strange to see the sight, but a nice kind of strange. April O’Neil and Casey Jones were two very different kinds of girls and yet they showed acceptance of his sons.

Perhaps it was foolish, but such actions gave Splinter hope for the future. That perhaps, one day, his boys may be allowed to walk in the sun.

Casey looked over, sensing that they weren’t alone in the room. The girl had good instincts, but they needed a more training.

“Hello sir,” she greeted quietly. She looked almost embarrassed at having been caught.

“Casey,” greeted Splinter. He glanced at Leonardo’s current position. Casey looked unrepentant. 

“He fell asleep on my shoulder. So I moved him so that they we would both be more comfortable. And well the book…my mom used to do this when I was sick. I thought he would like it.” 

“I used to read my sons folklore from my homeland,” agreed Splinter. Perhaps parents are always parents when it came to ill children. He moved down to get a better look at his eldest son. “He seems to be doing better than earlier.”

“Chicken soup is good for the body,” said Casey sheepishly gesturing to the tray of dishes. “I got caught up reading to him. Sorry about the mess.”

“It’s no concern. Leonardo’s comfort is more important. He was much fussier when he was younger.”

Casey laughed at that, “Really? I can see that.”

“Thank you for watching over my son.”

“Peace of mind is important in a fight. You can’t be worrying about other things. If I could give them that peace of mind, then well I did my part.”

She grinned, showing off her missing tooth, “There’s always gonna be other fights.”

It was a sad but true fact.

Before Splinter could respond, his other sons entered adrenaline high from tonight’s bout, but also concerned for their oldest sibling.

“Is Leo alright?” immediately asked Donatello.

Casey smiled, “Fever went down when I took it at eight. He ate all of his food. So I’m taking it as a good sign. He fell asleep though and I didn’t want to move him.”

“Thanks, Case,” said Raphael as he made his way over. “I’ll take him back to bed.”

“Probably for the best agreed the girl.”

“Did my soup help?” asked Michelangelo with wide eyes.

“Chicken soup always help when someone is sick,” said Casey wisely, standing and shaking off the pins and needles from her legs. “I think your soup helped a lot.”

A bright smile crossed his face and he hugged Casey, “Thanks for watching him.”

Casey, Splinter noticed, looked uncomfortable with Mikey’s easy physical affection. Eventually, though, she smiled and hugged back.

“No problem. Kick a lot of butt tonight?”

“So much,” said Raphael as he cautiously left the room. The sleeping Leonardo tucked safe in his arms.

“Awesome,” said Casey, handing over Donatello’s medical kit to the turtle. “I need to head back home. See you guys Friday. Tell Leo get well soon.”

“We will be sure to pass the message on,” said Splinter seriously. “Thank you for your help, Casey.”

The girl blushed and looked awkward. She gave a half hearted shrug, “No big deal.”

She shoved the tablet in her bag and took off, jumping over the turnstile and walking down the tunnel. A few moments later, after having tucked Leonardo into bed, Raphael took down the same direction as Casey to make sure she got home safe.

Splinter knew she could take care of herself, much like his wife could, but a part of him had his son do it for his own peace of mind.

The following week, when Leo was no longer sick, he found a gift by the door to his room.

It was a second hand book with a Post-It note on it.

 _‘What House do you think your brothers would be?’_ was all the note read in a surprisingly elegant cursive. Leonardo looked at the title of the book: _Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone_.

Curious, he opened it to the first chapter, read the first line, and remembered Casey’s soft voice through his fevered mind. 

And he smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> The whole thing with the Hamato money and the like is something I always theorized about. So hey fanfic headcanons ahoy! 
> 
> Surprisingly Casey does write in cursive in the television show and it's actually rather good cursive. Also Casey's good big sisterness can carry-over to anyone. I see her as a person starved for deeper connections and, despite a love for fighting, actually enjoying helping others. It's just herself that she can't take care of.
> 
> I hope Leo and Splinter were in character enough. It was my first time writing them. 
> 
> Next up is Casey and Michelangelo's bonding time. Get ready to get groovy folks.


End file.
